New to recording

We've been recording songs to put clips together to give to clubs to try and expand our playing area. Usually our drummer does the recordings but he's starting night classes after work and won't have time so I said I wouldn't mind learning to do it. So here's my question.

We usually use the mixing board for live and recording purposes. It's a Peavey FX2 16 channel mixer and he usually sends the audio signal via the rec out or saving on a flash drive then transfer to his laptop running audacity. We've tried recording separately and putting everything together but there were latency problems. Recording everything together is better but we apparently cant tweak the sound after recording. So is using the mixer into audacity ok for our needs? Or is using a dedicated audio interface with a program better? I was looking into the presonus studio one interface. My hope is to be able to have separate tracks for each instrument and vocals to better mix and master tracks. I run our sound for live settings, but I'm still new to actually recording.

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I purchased a used Presonus FireStudio for like $225 and hooked it up to my MacBook Pro/Garageband. Since I work on Mac all day doing graphics work, the visual nature of Garageband was pretty easy for me to learn and manage. We recorded everything live as a band, inputting bass, 2 guitars, and 4 drum mics. After laying down the initial tracks, we overdubbed vocals. I did all the mixing myself, alternating between headphones and my car stereo. I put a lot of hours into the project, but I also learned a ton in the process. The band was really happy with the results, despite their initial opinion that "digital sucks". It's not perfect, but it does the trick. We've already landed a gig simply from dropping the CD off and getting a call back from the bar owner.

The next time around, I want to try the more traditional approach of recording the drums and bass first, then layering the guitars and vocals. The biggest problem I had before was mic bleed and getting a good drum sound.

The next time around, I want to try the more traditional approach of recording the drums and bass first, then layering the guitars and vocals. The biggest problem I had before was mic bleed and getting a good drum sound.

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Err... the 'traditional' approach is for the band to record together. Music is a conversation, after all - and if the performances of the other musicians don't influence what you play (and if your performance doesn't influence what they play), either you or they need to pay more attention.

Most of the interviews I've read with top recording engineers love and embrace "mic bleed" as the magic glue holding together the song. The everyone-record-their-part-alone-in-their-bedroom-and-slap-it-together-in-the-DAW approach often turns out quite sterile and fake. That approach has its virtues, but I also prefer playing and recording with a whole band.

Most of the interviews I've read with top recording engineers love and embrace "mic bleed" as the magic glue holding together the song. The everyone-record-their-part-alone-in-their-bedroom-and-slap-it-together-in-the-DAW approach often turns out quite sterile and fake. That approach has its virtues, but I also prefer playing and recording with a whole band.

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So how do you prefer to go about tweaking the mix? Everyone EQs their own? EQ at the board and just play it back and listen if the mix sounds good? Or use an interface so you can all plug in and have separate tracks but still playing together?

So how do you prefer to go about tweaking the mix? Everyone EQs their own? EQ at the board and just play it back and listen if the mix sounds good? Or use an interface so you can all plug in and have separate tracks but still playing together?

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Best route is the latter, which enables EQ adjustments in the box after tracking. It also enables re-tracking an instrument if necessary. My personal preference is to track with minimal EQ and handle that afterward. But in the end it's all a matter of preference. If it's performed well and sounds good while it's being tracked, and if microphones are properly positioned during tracking, mixing won't be a problem. If it sounds like crap going in, there's no plug-in in the world that will pull that song out of the swamp.

Best route is the latter, which enables EQ adjustments in the box after tracking. It also enables re-tracking an instrument if necessary. My personal preference is to track with minimal EQ and handle that afterward. But in the end it's all a matter of preference. If it's performed well and sounds good while it's being tracked, and if microphones are properly positioned during tracking, mixing won't be a problem. If it sounds like crap going in, there's no plug-in in the world that will pull that song out of the swamp.

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So my next question is this...I'm doing more homework, and found that the peavey mixer does have 2 USB outputs...we've used one before as its dedicated for a memory stick. However the manual says the other usb is dedicated for streaming audio to a computer. If we use that USB port into a laptop with DAW, is it still stereo and going to be one track for all audio? Or will that allow me to have each xlr input listed as a separate track in the software. And to correct myself, its adobe audition not audacity

So my next question is this...I'm doing more homework, and found that the peavey mixer does have 2 USB outputs...we've used one before as its dedicated for a memory stick. However the manual says the other usb is dedicated for streaming audio to a computer. If we use that USB port into a laptop with DAW, is it still stereo and going to be one track for all audio? Or will that allow me to have each xlr input listed as a separate track in the software. And to correct myself, its adobe audition not audacity

Thanks!!

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This from the owner's manual:

Computer Mode: The USB B port streams 48k sample rate, 24 bit audio to an external computer or other recording device. To activate this mode, navigate to the Digital I/O screen and select Computer Mode. The screen will show a message saying CHANGE MODE TO COMPUTER MODE? Select OK to activate Computer Mode or CANCEL to exit this screen. Playback through this port may be assigned to the ****last stereo channel**** by pushing the Input Select button to the USB position. It then may be routed anywhere throughout the console by using the Aux Sends or Bus assignment buttons on that channel strip.

The way I read that, you get one stereo channel out. Not several individual channels. You'll just have to try it out and see what you get.

So how do you prefer to go about tweaking the mix? Everyone EQs their own? EQ at the board and just play it back and listen if the mix sounds good? Or use an interface so you can all plug in and have separate tracks but still playing together?

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Recording to a multi-track is the easiest way - in my room, I have 32 Pro Tools inputs; we often work with 8 people recording at once. Amps tend to go in iso booths, acoustic instruments (including the piano) in their own iso booths, and a few things go direct. Then, you tweak the mix as you wish after the fact. To be honest, I'm not sure how you'd do it if you didn't go to a studio, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper to rent a decent studio for a day than it is to buy enough equipment do do it at home...